NARD strike: CMD, consultants take over services at Dala hospital

By Tukur Muntari
Kano – The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of National Orthopaedic Hospital, Dala, Kano State, and some consultants have taken over services at the hospital following the strike by resident doctors in the country.
Mr Tijjani Mohammed, the Director, Servicom and Information of the hospital, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano on Wednesday.
According to him, the CMD of the hospital, Dr Muhammad Salihu, and some consultants have been attending to patients since the strike commenced on Sept. 4.
He said the measure became necessary in order to attend to the patients that needed urgent medical attention due to their conditions.
“The CMD and our consultants are the ones attending to patients at the Surgical Out Patients Department (SOPD), and Accident and Emergency Units of the hospital.
“These are the two units which need the attention of the doctors that are currently on strike. So we can say that the services are not totally affected,’’ said the spokesman.
He said the consultants who normally see the patients at the hospital on weekly basis have now been directed by the management to provide full services in place of the striking doctors.
A NAN Correspondent who visited the two units observed that most of the patients had been attended to by the CMD and the consultants even though it took the patients longer time before being attended to.
One of the patients at the SOPD, Mrs Beryl Deyemi, told NAN that she spent about four hours before she could see the consultant.
Deyemi, however, expressed happiness that despite the strike, she was able to see the doctor and prescribed medicine for her.
“I came here around 8.15 a.m but couldn’t see the doctor until 1 p.m, but I am still happy since he had attended to me,’’ she said.
Another patient at the Accident and Emergency unit, Mr Manaja Mai-mai, said he spent one hour before he could be attended to by the CMD.
NAN reports that following the strike some patients are being referred to the National Orthopaedic Hospital from the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) in view of high number of patients that patronise AKTH. (NAN)